Brent Suter is a relief pitcher for the Milwaukee Brewers who isn't looking to Mariano Rivera or Lee Smith, two relievers who were recently inducted into baseball's Hall of Fame, for his inspiration. His role model is Al Gore, and he's trying to save the planet. Suter's worldly mission got a big boost Tuesday from The Washington Post's Dave Shelnin, whose story details Suter's efforts to save the world.
How is one baseball pitcher, currently rehabbing from arm surgery, going to do the impossible?
Shelnin wrote that Suter and his family are taking fast showers, using solar panels, avoiding beef, composting and using recyclable grocery bags. He's also joined Players for the Planet, an advocacy group that spearheaded a clean-up project in the Dominican Republic. While Suter rehabbed in Phoenix:
"He would use those hours in the most productive way imaginable: He would help, in whatever way he could, to save the planet."
Suter's quest to become a planet-saving super hero began as a ninth-grader when his mother took him to see Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth." His passion grew at Harvard, where he majored in environmental science and public policy.
By the time Suter reached the major leagues in 2016, Shelnin explained, "he was already committed to reducing waste on a personal level, amusing teammates by pulling a reusable plate, utensils, coffee cup and water bottle at meal times." He learned that the Brewers were going through 20 cases of bottled water a day at spring training and urged them to switch to reusable bottles. This may have saved one continent alone.
When a doctor diagnosed Suter's serious arm injury in 2018, the pitcher was in tears. Briefly. As Shelnin told the story of this heroic figure, "he pivoted quickly, imagining the possibilities for his environmental advocacy. Among the first steps he took was to launch a social media campaign, with a ready-made hashtag ― #StrikeOutWaste ― to publicize his efforts."
To realize his grandiose plan for preserving the planet for future generations, Suter wants to persuade every major league team to use only compostable materials with compost piles placed next to garbage cans. He wants stadiums using solar panels and sustaining gardens to supplement their concessions. Fans would bring their own water bottles, and there would be no plastic bottles in sight. He inadvertently overlooked former President Barack Obama's advice to inflate car tires.
The end of Suter's rehabilitation is nearing, and Shelnin fears that a return to the Brewers' bullpen would interfere with the pitcher's quest to save Mother Earth. The thought of him resuming his baseball career did inspire Shelnin's thoughts about his future second career:
"But there is an offseason still to come, and hopefully a long career in the majors, followed ― he hopes ― by a second career in environmental advocacy, perhaps as a 'green' consultant to professional sports leagues."
Gore and the Green New Deal and climate change fanatics would appreciate Suter's pitching in to support their delusional hopes of saving the planet by legislating disastrous public policies based on inconvenient falsehoods.
